Want to work with Brad Pitt? Text him

Who knew that the most famous actor on the planet was also among the easiest to pin down?

Just ask Andrew Dominik, who directed Brad Pitt in the thriller Killing Them Softly. The two first worked together on 2007's The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. And when Dominik was casting his latest film, he reached out to Pitt, but bypassed agents or managers.

"I texted him -- I'd sent him the book two weeks before and I didn't think he was going to be available. I thought I'd get another actor. But then I realized, 'I sent it to him so I'd better text him first or it's rude.' He was doing Moneyball and I wasn't expecting to hear back from him. I asked him if he was interested. And he wrote back, 'Yes,'" marvels Dominik. "I was as surprised as everyone else was."

The unusual contract negotiation continued.

"I went around the next day to his house and told him the story. He said he was in. I took that with a grain of salt. Brad has a reputation for being flip-floppy. I never had that experience with him. He was the driving force in holding Jesse James together. On this one, he said he was in and he was," says Dominik.